Trio unlocks secrets of Orient in 3-week journey

Two Voorhees High School graduates and their teacher recently
unlocked the secrets of the Orient during a three-week trip to
Russia and China. Brie Ann Szatkowski and Amelia Read embarked with
biology teacher Thomas Heilman June 23 to participate in Amur
Program of the International Socio-Ecological Union at Muraviovka
Park, Siberia in Russia. They later visited Beijing, China . After
four days of constant travel, the American students arrived at
Muraviovka Park along the Amur River for a 15-day stay. The group
was soon to discover it was no Club Med.

The students, 43 Russian and nine American, split up into four
groups each with the mission of trying to preserve the marshland
around the camp and save the crane population from being killed by
area farmers, Szatkowski said.

Szatkowski's group decided it would be wise to develop land only
in one small area, preserving the wildlife and marsh
area.

"There was no electricity where the students stayed," Szatkowski
said, adding their cabins had no real running water and the showers
used water tanks.

The teacher cabins had generator and solar power, Szatkowski
said.

These limited accomodations impressed Sarah Gillman and Jessie
Thompson of Wisconsin who slept in tents on last year's trip,
Szatkowski said.

Some Russian students, whose ages ranged from 11 to 17, spoke
excellent English while others spoke none at all, she
said.

The Siberian weather was very unpredictable, some days in the
90s, other days requiring heavy sweatshirts, Szatkowski
said.

"The nights were very, very, cold," she added.

The group then ventured for a two-day stay in Beijing,
China.

Szatkowski said she was amazed at the horrendous traffic and
overcrowded crowded streets there, adding many were on
bicycles.

Nothing compared to the majestic Great Wall of China, not even
the Grand Canyon, Szatkowski said. The 4,000-mile wall is the only
man-made structure visible from outer space.

Surprisingly, the group was not bombarded by American culture
surprisingly, she said.

They had a traditional Chinese cuisine, including swan, dove and
duck, she said. The food was different than American Chinese food,
she added.

In Tiananmen Square is The Temple of Heaven, featuring a huge,
ornately decorated temple with the peaks on its roof pointed toward
the sky to keep out evil spirits.

Paintings of dragons and colorful designs beautify the
walls.

The line into the tomb of Mao Zadong was about a half-mile long,
she said. Also in the sqaure, soldiers marched amidst announcements
made over the loud-speaker.

On a lake outside of Beijing is The Summer Palace, Szatkowski
added.

They didn't visit it, but it is said the Empress Dowanger CiXi
would go there to escape the heat of the city, she said.

Szatkowski was particularly impressed by the architecture in
Beijing and said she plans to major in architecture at Penn State
University in the fall.

She said part of her curriculum senior year will be to a trip to
Rome, Italy.

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